Star Wars: Billy Dee Williams Will Not Reprise Lando For The Last Jedi

Star Wars news will be breaking left and right over the weekend thanks to Lucasfilm. The company has descended upon Orland to bring Star Wars Celebration to life, and a slew of franchise icons are down in Florida to celebrate their galaxy far, far away. With a slew of panels already underway, stars like Billy Dee Williams have already stepped up to the microphone to answer questions for fans. And, during one panel earlier today, Star Wars lovers were disappointed to learn the actor would not appear in the next movie.

That’s right. If you were hoping Williams would reprise his role as Lando Calrissian in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, it is time to shed a tear. At this Smooth Talking panel, the actor confirmed he had no part in the next installment of the Skywalker Saga.

For fans, the announcement comes as a blow as many had hoped Williams would return to the franchise. Other original trilogy icons like Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher returned for the new trilogy. However, it looks like Williams will not be joining his fans.

The next time Lando will appear in the Star Wars franchise may not be until the rogue appears in the yet-titled Han Solo movie. News broke that Donald Glover had been cast to play a younger Lando for the standalone, and the actor even met up with Williams last year for lunch to talk about the character.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi, from writer/director Rian Johnson, is in post-production now for a December 15, 2017 release. The film follows-up and continues the story of the next generation of the saga as Rey, Poe, Finn, and Kylo Ren find their place in the galaxy and follow the legacy of Luke Skywalker, Leia, and Han Solo. Daisy Ridley returns to star as Rey, with other returning stars John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie, Peter Mayhew, Andy Serkis, Anthony Daniels, Lupita Nyong'o Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa. Benicio Del Toro and Laura Dern join the cast in as-yet-unrevealed roles.